Man accused of crashing St. Tammany Sheriff's boat while drunk

MADISONVILLE, La. - A volunteer member of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office boarded one of the office's boats and drove into a bar's piling while drunk, according to officials.

Danny Eckhart faces charges of unauthorized use of a movable and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Eckhart boarded the boat Saturday night "while not acting in any official capacity" with the sheriff's office. He then drove the boat downriver and hit a piling outside of the T-Rivers bar in Madisonville. The crash caused damages to the boat, but no injuries were reported.

Eckhart was a volunteer member of the reserve division in the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office, according to a deputy spokesperson. The sheriff's office decommissioned him immediately after the incident.